Graham technique

The Martha Graham Dance Company in performance. The central woman's pose shows the characteristic tension and theatricality of Graham technique.

The Graham technique is a modern dance movement style and pedagogy created by American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham (1894–1991).^[1] Graham technique has been called the "cornerstone" of American modern dance, and is taught worldwide.^[2] The phrase "Graham technique" was registered as a trademark before Graham's death, and was the subject of a trademark dispute in the early 2000s.^[3]

Characteristics

Graham technique is based on "contraction and release" (see below), and uses different parts of the body in opposition to one another, creating spirals for dramatic tension.^[5][6] It also incorporates formal exaggerations of "natural" movements.^[7]

Graham technique is designed to make its dancers expressive and dramatic. Its movement vocabulary draws connections between the physical and emotional meanings of "power", "control", and "vulnerability".^[8] Graham was exceptionally flexible, and many of her technique's exaggerated movements can be difficult or painful, especially for less-flexible dancers.^[9] The technique was originally developed on an all-female company.^[10]

Graham technique uses the hands in distinctive ways. They are generally meant to be active and purposeful, not decorative.^[11] They are often held in a stylized, cupped position, with the fingers held straight and pulled towards the palm.^[12][13] Arms move in response to impetus from the back or shoulders. Arm movements were left unspecified in Graham's early work, and there is variation between Graham teachers' use of port de bras (carriage of the arms).^[5]:12

Graham is considered a "codified technique", like the several schools of classical ballet.^[14][15] In contrast to ballet's "distal" (outward) limb movements and upright posture, Graham movement initiates from the core and includes large back movements and dancing on the floor.^[10] Where ballet dancers strive to appear weightless and move effortlessly, Graham dancers reveal and magnify their effort for dramatic effect. Graham explained, "Ballet…did not say enough, especially when it came to intense drama, to passion."^[16]:56 However, her extended collaboration with ballet-trained Erick Hawkins made her technique more balletic over time.^[5]:23

Contraction and release

The fundamental movement of Graham technique is the "contraction" and subsequent "release". In a classic Graham contraction, the spine is curved deeply backward, with the movement originating from the deep pelvic muscles. The spine must grow longer, not shorter, in a contraction.^[17] The cycle of contraction and release was developed as a stylized representation of breathing.^[18] Along with the "fall and recovery" dualism of Doris Humphrey's technique, it is one of the most important concepts in modern dance.^[19][20]

Graham sometimes criticized her dancers for failing to initiate from the pelvis, or (as she put it) "move from the vagina";^[21] the connection between Graham technique and the female pelvis led one of Graham's male dancers to develop "vagina envy".^[22]

Influence on modern dance

Graham, along with Doris Humphrey, Helen Tamiris, Agnes de Mille, and others, was part of an artistic movement in dance which rejected both the centuries-old tradition of classical ballet and the first-generation rebels of modern dance, such as those who taught at the Denishawn school where Graham studied.^[16]:47

The expressive force of Graham technique had a revolutionary effect on modern dance.^[10] Graham is now taught in most university dance programs, and remains the "hallmark" style of contemporary concert dance; its movement vocabulary is familiar to almost all professional contemporary dancers.^[7][2] It strongly influenced several other codified techniques, notably those of Merce Cunningham, Lester Horton, and Paul Taylor.^[23][24][25]

Teaching

Graham developed a daily class for her company, which is still used (with some variations) to teach her technique.^[26][27] The class is organized as follows:

• Floor work Students stand to salute the teacher as she or he enters, then work on the floor for thirty to forty minutes. Students practice contraction exercises and perform kneeling combinations.
• Standing exercises The floorwork exercises transition up to standing combinations, which work the legs, feet, and torso, and train balance and control.
• Across the floor These traveling combinations begin with simple walking exercises, and increase in complexity to include jumps and leaping turns. Students traditionally consider this section an opportunity for "real" dancing, in contrast to the other sections' duly executed technical training.
• Falls Each fall consists of a contraction and concurrent move from the feet or knees to the back. The falls are meant to demonstrate control of the body at each of the vertical levels previously practiced.^[8]

Trademark dispute

Martha Graham founded a school, the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, which she sold in 1956. After Graham's death, Ron Protas, her sole heir, sued the school for the rights to use Graham's trademarked name and choreography. A federal court awarded the school the rights to the names "Martha Graham" and "Graham technique" in 2001, and the rights to Graham's choreography in 2002.^[28][3]

See also

• Modern dance
• Humphrey-Weidman technique
• Limón technique

External links

• Graham dancers illustrating key elements of Graham technique (narrated by Martha Graham)
• Excerpts from Guidelines in Contemporary Dance Training, a DVD set produced by Graham dancer Phyllis Gutelius: Floorwork, standing work

References

Bibliography

• Helpern, Alice J (1994). The technique of Martha Graham. Morgan & Morgan. 
• De Mille, A. (1991). Martha: The life and work of Martha Graham. Vintage.